Multi-conductor electrical connectors have been used for many years and have been provided in a wide variety of configurations for mass terminating a plurality of terminals to the conductors of a multi-conductor electrical cable. One of the problems in mass termination of these types of connectors is that a given connector of a particular construction can be used with a variety of different circuitry having a different array or configuration of terminals. Consequently, termination tools for assembling or terminating such connectors constantly have to be modified to accommodate the configuration of terminals.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,816 to Roberts et al., dated Sept. 11, 1990 and assigned to the assignee of this invention, discloses an electrical connector system which includes self-terminating pin and socket terminals which have forward mating ends and identical rear wire-receiving ends. The wire-receiving ends are mountable in a modular rear housing. The modular rear housing is mateable with either a front plug housing or a front receptacle housing. The terminals can be mass terminated by inserting a plurality of wires into the modular rear housing and by axially advancing the modular rear housing toward the front housing of the system. The housing components can be readily separated from one another for repair or replacement of terminals. Selected connectors can be lockingly mountable to panels and can be lockingly mateable with one another.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,619 to Dechelette, dated Apr. 23, 1985 and assigned to the assignee of this invention, discloses a collapsible insulation displacement terminal, responsive to a force directed along the length of a wire received in the terminal. The terminal is particularly useful for use with the electrical connector system shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,816.
With such an electrical connector system and insulation displacement terminal as disclosed in the above patents, different arrays or configurations of terminals can be used with the same modular connector system. For instance, the array of terminals and terminated conductors can range from a two-conductor circuit to a fifteen-conductor circuit, using the same modular components. Since the system is readily applicable for mass termination operations, termination tooling also must be provided which is readily changeable to accommodate the modular/varying capabilities of the connector system itself. This invention is directed to solving the above problems by providing a modular press tool which, itself, can be readily changed to accommodate the modular characteristics of the connector system.